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The shop assistant covered her mouth and whispered, "You're Su Mo, the College Entrance Exam Champion!"
Su Mo nodded. "Yes, I'd like to use my points to buy these things."
"Please wait a moment, sir. I don't have the authority to deduct your points. I'll call the president for you right away."
With that, she eagerly arranged for Su Mo to sit in a private room and began reporting his arrival up the chain of command.
In just a short while, a golden light flashed at the entrance of the trading house. The next moment, an old man with a full head of white hair stepped slowly out of the glow.
This was none other than the trading house manager Su Mo had met once before in the Shili Slope dungeon.
Back then, when Su Mo sold items, this man had even raised the price by 50% for him.
Inside the private room, the shop assistant was still diligently pouring tea for Su Mo and Su Yu, attending to them with great care.
After all, this was the College Entrance Exam Champion!
Though there was a champion every year, it had been ages since southwest region—let alone Tianfu city—produced one.
And this year's champion was different from those of previous years.
In less than 10 days after awakening, he'd defeated a slew of elite family heirs. Single-handedly, he'd led the students of Tianfu High School to dominate the district exams, ensuring over 200 students from Tianfu advanced.
Then, he'd gone on to claim the title of this year's College Entrance Exam Champion and caught the eye of a god-tier powerhouse, who took him as a disciple.
Any one of these feats, taken alone, would be hard to believe. Yet Su Mo had accomplished them all single-handedly.
How could such a person not leave others in awe?
[Knock, knock, knock]
With a series of knocks, the trading house manager walked in with a beaming smile and looked at Su Mo. "Little Mo, my friend, we meet again. When I first saw you at Shili Slope, I knew you weren't destined to stay ordinary.
I never imagined that in such a short time—just one college entrance exam—you'd soar like a dragon among men. Truly a phoenix among people!"
Su Mo stood up and greeted him. "Hello, President. Here's the thing—I'd like to buy some items, but I don't have enough money. So I was hoping to use my points. What do you think?"
The manager quickly waved his hand. "Oh, come now, calling me that makes it sound so formal. Just call me Old Li.
They already told me about this, and I hope you don't mind if I call you Little Mo."
President Li paused here, giving Su Mo a sly, smiling glance.
"Not at all, not at all. Everyone calls me Little Mo—you can too."
President Li nodded with a broad smile, stroking his white beard. "Little Mo, you might not fully understand the value of these points.
Normally, one point can be exchanged for 1,000 Great Xia coins. But that's just the official rate. On the black market, a single point can fetch anywhere from 5,000 to 8,000 Great Xia coins.
The key reason is that many things can't be bought with money. Every year, the College Entrance Exam Champion is usually from a major family.
Their points are typically handed over to the family for dealings with the nation or other factions. So, do you still want to use your points now?"
Su Mo fell silent after hearing this. In his family, it was just him and his sister—two people who didn't need much as long as they were fed.
If he needed something and had the money, he'd buy it on the spot. But according to Old Li, points were not only hard to earn but also required for many exclusive purchases.
Before Su Mo could think it through, President Li spoke again with a grin. "What's there to mull over? You just want a mount, right? A little thing worth less than 100 million—take it. I'll cover it."
Su Mo nearly dropped his jaw in shock at those words.
Listen to this guy—was that even human speech?
"A little thing worth less than 100 million"?
Did he think 100 million was some roadside weed you could just pick up anywhere?
But Su Mo quickly regained his composure, realizing that Old Li wasn't trying to win him over personally—it was the cheap master standing behind him that mattered.
In a normal situation, even as the College Entrance Exam Champion, Old Li might've just given him a discount at best—and not even a big one.
But with a god backing him, everything changed.
No need to guess—Old Li's sudden generosity definitely came with strings attached.
With his golden-tier strength, it was unlikely he'd need anything from Su Mo himself. It had to be about his master.
Su Mo lowered his head and thought it over. He had 431,000 points. Even at the official rate of 1,000 Great Xia coins per point, that was over 4.3 billion.
But just imagining a mount costing nearly 100 million made him feel like 4.3 billion might not be enough after all.
Still, since Old Li had helped him out before, and now seemed to want a favor from his master, Su Mo figured he'd lend a hand.
With that in mind, he nodded. "Then thank you, President Li."
"Hahaha, see, didn't I just tell you? Call me Old Li—no need for 'President Li,' really.
Come, come, since you're here at our Great Xia Trading House, no need to rush off. How about staying to have a few drinks with this old man?"
Su Mo shook his head and pointed at Su Yu. "No thanks. I'm taking my sister leveling soon, so I plan to grab the mount and go. When can you have it delivered?"
"In that case, I won't hold you back. Come with me—you can pick up the mount yourself. I'll have someone bring the other stuff to you."
With that, Old Li led the way out. At the door, he said a few words to the other shop assistants, who began gathering up all the items Su Mo had bought earlier.
Moments later, Su Mo followed Old Li to a massive breeding ground. The area was divided into huge enclosures.
Each enclosure was built with high-grade materials. Even the smallest one was almost as big as Su Mo's house.
This made Su Mo marvel at how great life must be for the rich.
Even a mount got to live in such a nice place.
And it made sense—considering these things cost tens of millions each, most people couldn't afford to raise one.
Soon, President Li stopped in front of an enclosure and opened the iron gate with his fingerprint.
[Roar!]
As the gate swung open, a tiger's roar echoed, brimming with dominance.
Su Mo peered inside. A three-meter-tall, multicolored tiger with snow-white wings was baring its fangs and roaring at them.
Its sharp teeth were nearly 30 centimeters long, and the "king" pattern on its forehead proclaimed its status as the ruler of beasts.
Just one glance, and Su Mo was utterly captivated by it.
This was way more majestic than it looked in the picture.
Imagining himself riding this beast, wielding a halberd, slashing down golden-tier bosses one by one—it sent his blood racing.
A real man needed a mount like this!
"So, what do you think? Like the mount?"
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